Feeding our kids.. better, let's try.

A woman is out to lunch with her child and is ordering her meal—salad complication. When she finishes ordering, she then explains/apologizes, but her son won't be getting anything.

She uses some lame excuse— he's a picky eater [proceeded by..] he only eats these giant black&whites cookies, which she points to and which she conveniently picked up for him on the way over. [Story 1].

. . . .

Not everyone has the time, or money for that matter, to afford to eat lunch out at a sit-down restaurant. Subway dining or noshing is an alternative many in the city tend to practice, even parents...

A mom strolls her child in the subway around noon-ish and comfortably sits in the two-seater at the end of a car. There is a paper bag nestled on the top of the stroller— a convenient place many stroller parents stash their nosh while on the go. She reaches her hand in and pulls out some fries, along with a whiff of McDonald's that permeates the stagnant air. She hands a fry to her daughter and snacks on some herself— it's lunchtime. Apparently, it's also branding time. [Story 2].


(She looks hooked, doesn't she?... oops.)

. . . .

It's (almost) 10pm and the woman sitting next to me does know where her child is because, after a slight yawn, her little one asks, 'Mommy, where's my cheese doodles?', in the cutest of voices no less.

Mommy responds, 'I don't have any cheese doodles.'

As if Mommy did.not.just.say.that, the 3 year old calmly repeats: 'Mommy, where's my cheese doodles?' Then taps Mommy's big purse bag, in case she had a slight lapse in memory.

Mommy repeats, 'I didn't buy any cheese doodles.', opens her bag, and stands by her word. And that was that. No cheese doodles were consumed. Should Mommy have had the so-requested cheese doodles, however, another story would have resulted. [Story 3].

. . . .

With parenting, comes great responsibility. Are they safe? Are they getting what they need? Are they healthy?

The thing about parenting is that we can only do so much. In just but a few years of life, kids go off to school and playdates and whathaveyou and become subject to things outside the guidance, rules, principles, and culture of their parents/guardians. Nonetheless, however, parents and guardians still hold, for the most part, most of the accountability of how their children are raised.


The above three stories are real and in each there is value we can gain from.

Story 1: Mother eats healthy but doesn't feed her son so.
Response: Props to Mother for eating her greens but enabling cookie-monster tendencies in her son is uncalled for, nutritionally unwise, and preventable. A) Children don't have money or much means to get food on their own. B) Children need to eat. C) Children will [have to] eat what they are given when they are hungry. Share some salad, Mom.

Story 2: Mother noshes on [double] fried & flavored starch.
Response: Mother, what you eat is [to some extent] your business, but do you have to endorse the multi-billion dollar business and train your child's taste preferences with its fuel [aka. fries et al.] which will later then fuel its already ridiculous profit margin? Children need nutrients. Food [naturally] with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, they're all a good thing. O, and parents, they need nutrients too.

Story 3: Mother doesn't enable and child doesn't fuss.
Response: OMG, I know. It is actually possible to not feed your child crap and without headache too. Because the child knows about cheese doodles, though, implies Mom's bought them for her before, but hey, as always, everything in moderation.


It's not about perfection— which doesn't exist — or restriction, for that matter. It's about..


Happy Healthy Juicy Child Nutrition & Their Future!